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Trayanova NA, Lyon A, Shade J, Heijman J. Computational modeling of cardiac electrophysiology and arrhythmogenesis: toward clinical translation. Physiol Rev 2024; 104:1265-1333. [PMID: 38153307 DOI: 10.1152/physrev.00017.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2023] [Revised: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 12/21/2023] [Indexed: 12/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The complexity of cardiac electrophysiology, involving dynamic changes in numerous components across multiple spatial (from ion channel to organ) and temporal (from milliseconds to days) scales, makes an intuitive or empirical analysis of cardiac arrhythmogenesis challenging. Multiscale mechanistic computational models of cardiac electrophysiology provide precise control over individual parameters, and their reproducibility enables a thorough assessment of arrhythmia mechanisms. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of models of cardiac electrophysiology and arrhythmias, from the single cell to the organ level, and how they can be leveraged to better understand rhythm disorders in cardiac disease and to improve heart patient care. Key issues related to model development based on experimental data are discussed, and major families of human cardiomyocyte models and their applications are highlighted. An overview of organ-level computational modeling of cardiac electrophysiology and its clinical applications in personalized arrhythmia risk assessment and patient-specific therapy of atrial and ventricular arrhythmias is provided. The advancements presented here highlight how patient-specific computational models of the heart reconstructed from patient data have achieved success in predicting risk of sudden cardiac death and guiding optimal treatments of heart rhythm disorders. Finally, an outlook toward potential future advances, including the combination of mechanistic modeling and machine learning/artificial intelligence, is provided. As the field of cardiology is embarking on a journey toward precision medicine, personalized modeling of the heart is expected to become a key technology to guide pharmaceutical therapy, deployment of devices, and surgical interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia A Trayanova
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States
- Alliance for Cardiovascular Diagnostic and Treatment Innovation, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States
| | - Aurore Lyon
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, CARIM School for Cardiovascular Diseases, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- Division of Heart and Lungs, Department of Medical Physiology, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Julie Shade
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States
- Alliance for Cardiovascular Diagnostic and Treatment Innovation, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States
| | - Jordi Heijman
- Department of Cardiology, CARIM School for Cardiovascular Diseases, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
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2
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Forouzandehmehr M, Paci M, Hyttinen J, Koivumäki JT. In silico study of the mechanisms of hypoxia and contractile dysfunction during ischemia and reperfusion of hiPSC cardiomyocytes. Dis Model Mech 2024; 17:dmm050365. [PMID: 38516812 PMCID: PMC11073514 DOI: 10.1242/dmm.050365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Interconnected mechanisms of ischemia and reperfusion (IR) has increased the interest in IR in vitro experiments using human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs). We developed a whole-cell computational model of hiPSC-CMs including the electromechanics, a metabolite-sensitive sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA) and an oxygen dynamics formulation to investigate IR mechanisms. Moreover, we simulated the effect and action mechanism of levosimendan, which recently showed promising anti-arrhythmic effects in hiPSC-CMs in hypoxia. The model was validated using hiPSC-CM and in vitro animal data. The role of SERCA in causing relaxation dysfunction in IR was anticipated to be comparable to its function in sepsis-induced heart failure. Drug simulations showed that levosimendan counteracts the relaxation dysfunction by utilizing a particular Ca2+-sensitizing mechanism involving Ca2+-bound troponin C and Ca2+ flux to the myofilament, rather than inhibiting SERCA phosphorylation. The model demonstrates extensive characterization and promise for drug development, making it suitable for evaluating IR therapy strategies based on the changing levels of cardiac metabolites, oxygen and molecular pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Michelangelo Paci
- Department of Electrical, Electronic, and Information Engineering ‘Guglielmo Marconi’, University of Bologna, 47522 Cesena, Italy
| | - Jari Hyttinen
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, 33520 Tampere, Finland
| | - Jussi T. Koivumäki
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, 33520 Tampere, Finland
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3
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Abrasheva VO, Kovalenko SG, Slotvitsky M, Romanova SА, Aitova AA, Frolova S, Tsvelaya V, Syunyaev RA. Human sodium current voltage-dependence at physiological temperature measured by coupling a patch-clamp experiment to a mathematical model. J Physiol 2024; 602:633-661. [PMID: 38345560 DOI: 10.1113/jp285162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 02/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Voltage-gated Na+ channels are crucial to action potential propagation in excitable tissues. Because of the high amplitude and rapid activation of the Na+ current, voltage-clamp measurements are very challenging and are usually performed at room temperature. In this study, we measured Na+ current voltage-dependence in stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes at physiological temperature. While the apparent activation and inactivation curves, measured as the dependence of current amplitude on voltage, fall within the range reported in previous studies, we identified a systematic error in our measurements. This error is caused by the deviation of the membrane potential from the command potential of the amplifier. We demonstrate that it is possible to account for this artifact using computer simulation of the patch-clamp experiment. We obtained surprising results through patch-clamp model optimization: a half-activation of -11.5 mV and a half-inactivation of -87 mV. Although the half-activation deviates from previous research, we demonstrate that this estimate reproduces the conduction velocity dependence on extracellular potassium concentration. KEY POINTS: Voltage-gated Na+ currents play a crucial role in excitable tissues including neurons, cardiac and skeletal muscle. Measurement of Na+ current is challenging because of its high amplitude and rapid kinetics, especially at physiological temperature. We have used the patch-clamp technique to measure human Na+ current voltage-dependence in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes. The patch-clamp data were processed by optimization of the model accounting for voltage-clamp experiment artifacts, revealing a large difference between apparent parameters of Na+ current and the results of the optimization. We conclude that actual Na+ current activation is extremely depolarized in comparison to previous studies. The new Na+ current model provides a better understanding of action potential propagation; we demonstrate that it explains propagation in hyperkalaemic conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sandaara G Kovalenko
- Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Moscow, Russia
- M. F. Vladimirsky Moscow Regional Research Clinical Institute, Moscow, Russia
- ITMO University, St Petersburg, Russia
| | - Mihail Slotvitsky
- Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Moscow, Russia
- M. F. Vladimirsky Moscow Regional Research Clinical Institute, Moscow, Russia
- ITMO University, St Petersburg, Russia
| | - Serafima А Romanova
- Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Moscow, Russia
- M. F. Vladimirsky Moscow Regional Research Clinical Institute, Moscow, Russia
| | - Aleria A Aitova
- Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Moscow, Russia
- M. F. Vladimirsky Moscow Regional Research Clinical Institute, Moscow, Russia
- ITMO University, St Petersburg, Russia
| | - Sheida Frolova
- Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Moscow, Russia
- M. F. Vladimirsky Moscow Regional Research Clinical Institute, Moscow, Russia
| | - Valeria Tsvelaya
- Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Moscow, Russia
- M. F. Vladimirsky Moscow Regional Research Clinical Institute, Moscow, Russia
- ITMO University, St Petersburg, Russia
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4
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Verkerk AO, Wilders R. Injection of I K1 through dynamic clamp can make all the difference in patch-clamp studies on hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes. Front Physiol 2023; 14:1326160. [PMID: 38152247 PMCID: PMC10751953 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1326160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2023] [Accepted: 11/24/2023] [Indexed: 12/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Human-induced stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) are a valuable tool for studying development, pharmacology, and (inherited) arrhythmias. Unfortunately, hiPSC-CMs are depolarized and spontaneously active, even the working cardiomyocyte subtypes such as atrial- and ventricular-like hiPSC-CMs, in contrast to the situation in the atria and ventricles of adult human hearts. Great efforts have been made, using many different strategies, to generate more mature, quiescent hiPSC-CMs with more close-to-physiological resting membrane potentials, but despite promising results, it is still difficult to obtain hiPSC-CMs with such properties. The dynamic clamp technique allows to inject a current with characteristics of the inward rectifier potassium current (IK1), computed in real time according to the actual membrane potential, into patch-clamped hiPSC-CMs during action potential measurements. This results in quiescent hiPSC-CMs with a close-to-physiological resting membrane potential. As a result, action potential measurements can be performed with normal ion channel availability, which is particularly important for the physiological functioning of the cardiac SCN5A-encoded fast sodium current (INa). We performed in vitro and in silico experiments to assess the beneficial effects of the dynamic clamp technique in dissecting the functional consequences of the SCN5A-1795insD+/- mutation. In two separate sets of patch-clamp experiments on control hiPSC-CMs and on hiPSC-CMs with mutations in ACADVL and GNB5, we assessed the value of dynamic clamp in detecting delayed afterdepolarizations and in investigating factors that modulate the resting membrane potential. We conclude that the dynamic clamp technique has highly beneficial effects in all of the aforementioned settings and should be widely used in patch-clamp studies on hiPSC-CMs while waiting for the ultimate fully mature hiPSC-CMs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arie O. Verkerk
- Department of Medical Biology, Amsterdam Cardiovascular Sciences, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Department of Experimental Cardiology, Heart Center, Amsterdam Cardiovascular Sciences, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Ronald Wilders
- Department of Medical Biology, Amsterdam Cardiovascular Sciences, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
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5
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Han JL, Heinson YW, Chua CJ, Liu W, Entcheva E. CRISPRi gene modulation and all-optical electrophysiology in post-differentiated human iPSC-cardiomyocytes. Commun Biol 2023; 6:1236. [PMID: 38062109 PMCID: PMC10703822 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-05627-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2023] [Accepted: 11/22/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Uncovering gene-phenotype relationships can be enabled by precise gene modulation in human induced pluripotent stem-cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs) and follow up phenotyping using scalable all-optical electrophysiology platforms. Such efforts towards human functional genomics can be aided by recent CRISPR-derived technologies for reversible gene inhibition or activation (CRISPRi/a). We set out to characterize the performance of CRISPRi in post-differentiated iPSC-CMs, targeting key cardiac ion channel genes, KCNH2, KCNJ2, and GJA1, and providing a multiparametric quantification of the effects on cardiac repolarization, stability of the resting membrane potential and conduction properties using all-optical tools. More potent CRISPRi effectors, e.g., Zim3, and optimized viral delivery led to improved performance on par with the use of CRISPRi iPSC lines. Confirmed mild yet specific phenotype changes when CRISPRi is deployed in non-dividing differentiated heart cells is an important step towards more holistic pre-clinical cardiotoxicity testing and for future therapeutic use in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie L Han
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, 20052, USA
| | - Yuli W Heinson
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, 20052, USA
| | - Christianne J Chua
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, 20052, USA
| | - Wei Liu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, 20052, USA
| | - Emilia Entcheva
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, 20052, USA.
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Vuorenpää H, Björninen M, Välimäki H, Ahola A, Kroon M, Honkamäki L, Koivumäki JT, Pekkanen-Mattila M. Building blocks of microphysiological system to model physiology and pathophysiology of human heart. Front Physiol 2023; 14:1213959. [PMID: 37485060 PMCID: PMC10358860 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1213959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2023] [Accepted: 06/26/2023] [Indexed: 07/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Microphysiological systems (MPS) are drawing increasing interest from academia and from biomedical industry due to their improved capability to capture human physiology. MPS offer an advanced in vitro platform that can be used to study human organ and tissue level functions in health and in diseased states more accurately than traditional single cell cultures or even animal models. Key features in MPS include microenvironmental control and monitoring as well as high biological complexity of the target tissue. To reach these qualities, cross-disciplinary collaboration from multiple fields of science is required to build MPS. Here, we review different areas of expertise and describe essential building blocks of heart MPS including relevant cardiac cell types, supporting matrix, mechanical stimulation, functional measurements, and computational modelling. The review presents current methods in cardiac MPS and provides insights for future MPS development with improved recapitulation of human physiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanna Vuorenpää
- Centre of Excellence in Body-on-Chip Research (CoEBoC), BioMediTech, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- Adult Stem Cell Group, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- Research, Development and Innovation Centre, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland
| | - Miina Björninen
- Centre of Excellence in Body-on-Chip Research (CoEBoC), BioMediTech, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- Adult Stem Cell Group, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- Research, Development and Innovation Centre, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland
| | - Hannu Välimäki
- Centre of Excellence in Body-on-Chip Research (CoEBoC), BioMediTech, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- Micro- and Nanosystems Research Group, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Antti Ahola
- Centre of Excellence in Body-on-Chip Research (CoEBoC), BioMediTech, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- Computational Biophysics and Imaging Group, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Mart Kroon
- Centre of Excellence in Body-on-Chip Research (CoEBoC), BioMediTech, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Group, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Laura Honkamäki
- Centre of Excellence in Body-on-Chip Research (CoEBoC), BioMediTech, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- Neuro Group, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Jussi T. Koivumäki
- Centre of Excellence in Body-on-Chip Research (CoEBoC), BioMediTech, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- Computational Biophysics and Imaging Group, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Mari Pekkanen-Mattila
- Centre of Excellence in Body-on-Chip Research (CoEBoC), BioMediTech, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- Heart Group, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
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Dokuchaev A, Kursanov A, Balakina-Vikulova NA, Katsnelson LB, Solovyova O. The importance of mechanical conditions in the testing of excitation abnormalities in a population of electro-mechanical models of human ventricular cardiomyocytes. Front Physiol 2023; 14:1187956. [PMID: 37362439 PMCID: PMC10285544 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1187956] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 05/25/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: Populations of in silico electrophysiological models of human cardiomyocytes represent natural variability in cell activity and are thoroughly calibrated and validated using experimental data from the human heart. The models have been shown to predict the effects of drugs and their pro-arrhythmic risks. However, excitation and contraction are known to be tightly coupled in the myocardium, with mechanical loads and stretching affecting both mechanics and excitation through mechanisms of mechano-calcium-electrical feedback. However, these couplings are not currently a focus of populations of cell models. Aim: We investigated the role of cardiomyocyte mechanical activity under different mechanical conditions in the generation, calibration, and validation of a population of electro-mechanical models of human cardiomyocytes. Methods: To generate a population, we assumed 11 input parameters of ionic currents and calcium dynamics in our recently developed TP + M model as varying within a wide range. A History matching algorithm was used to generate a non-implausible parameter space by calibrating the action potential and calcium transient biomarkers against experimental data and rejecting models with excitation abnormalities. The population was further calibrated using experimental data on human myocardial force characteristics and mechanical tests involving variations in preload and afterload. Models that passed the mechanical tests were validated with additional experimental data, including the effects of drugs with high or low pro-arrhythmic risk. Results: More than 10% of the models calibrated on electrophysiological data failed mechanical tests and were rejected from the population due to excitation abnormalities at reduced preload or afterload for cell contraction. The final population of accepted models yielded action potential, calcium transient, and force/shortening outputs consistent with experimental data. In agreement with experimental and clinical data, the models demonstrated a high frequency of excitation abnormalities in simulations of Dofetilide action on the ionic currents, in contrast to Verapamil. However, Verapamil showed a high frequency of failed contractions at high concentrations. Conclusion: Our results highlight the importance of considering mechanoelectric coupling in silico cardiomyocyte models. Mechanical tests allow a more thorough assessment of the effects of interventions on cardiac function, including drug testing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arsenii Dokuchaev
- Laboratory of Mathematical Physiology, Institute of Immunology and Physiology, Ural Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Ekaterinburg, Russia
| | - Alexander Kursanov
- Laboratory of Mathematical Physiology, Institute of Immunology and Physiology, Ural Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Ekaterinburg, Russia
- Laboratory of Mathematical Modeling in Physiology and Medicine Based on Supercomputers, Ural Federal University, Ekaterinburg, Russia
| | - Nathalie A. Balakina-Vikulova
- Laboratory of Mathematical Physiology, Institute of Immunology and Physiology, Ural Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Ekaterinburg, Russia
- Laboratory of Mathematical Modeling in Physiology and Medicine Based on Supercomputers, Ural Federal University, Ekaterinburg, Russia
| | - Leonid B. Katsnelson
- Laboratory of Mathematical Physiology, Institute of Immunology and Physiology, Ural Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Ekaterinburg, Russia
- Laboratory of Mathematical Modeling in Physiology and Medicine Based on Supercomputers, Ural Federal University, Ekaterinburg, Russia
| | - Olga Solovyova
- Laboratory of Mathematical Physiology, Institute of Immunology and Physiology, Ural Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Ekaterinburg, Russia
- Laboratory of Mathematical Modeling in Physiology and Medicine Based on Supercomputers, Ural Federal University, Ekaterinburg, Russia
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8
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Soepriatna AH, Navarrete-Welton A, Kim TY, Daley MC, Bronk P, Kofron CM, Mende U, Coulombe KLK, Choi BR. Action potential metrics and automated data analysis pipeline for cardiotoxicity testing using optically mapped hiPSC-derived 3D cardiac microtissues. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0280406. [PMID: 36745602 PMCID: PMC9901774 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0280406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2022] [Accepted: 12/28/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent advances in human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived cardiac microtissues provide a unique opportunity for cardiotoxic assessment of pharmaceutical and environmental compounds. Here, we developed a series of automated data processing algorithms to assess changes in action potential (AP) properties for cardiotoxicity testing in 3D engineered cardiac microtissues generated from hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs). Purified hiPSC-CMs were mixed with 5-25% human cardiac fibroblasts (hCFs) under scaffold-free conditions and allowed to self-assemble into 3D spherical microtissues in 35-microwell agarose gels. Optical mapping was performed to quantify electrophysiological changes. To increase throughput, AP traces from 4x4 cardiac microtissues were simultaneously acquired with a voltage sensitive dye and a CMOS camera. Individual microtissues showing APs were identified using automated thresholding after Fourier transforming traces. An asymmetric least squares method was used to correct non-uniform background and baseline drift, and the fluorescence was normalized (ΔF/F0). Bilateral filtering was applied to preserve the sharpness of the AP upstroke. AP shape changes under selective ion channel block were characterized using AP metrics including stimulation delay, rise time of AP upstroke, APD30, APD50, APD80, APDmxr (maximum rate change of repolarization), and AP triangulation (APDtri = APDmxr-APD50). We also characterized changes in AP metrics under various ion channel block conditions with multi-class logistic regression and feature extraction using principal component analysis of human AP computer simulations. Simulation results were validated experimentally with selective pharmacological ion channel blockers. In conclusion, this simple and robust automated data analysis pipeline for evaluating key AP metrics provides an excellent in vitro cardiotoxicity testing platform for a wide range of environmental and pharmaceutical compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arvin H. Soepriatna
- Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America
| | - Allison Navarrete-Welton
- Cardiovascular Research Center, Cardiovascular Institute, Rhode Island Hospital and Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America
| | - Tae Yun Kim
- Cardiovascular Research Center, Cardiovascular Institute, Rhode Island Hospital and Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America
| | - Mark C. Daley
- Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America
| | - Peter Bronk
- Cardiovascular Research Center, Cardiovascular Institute, Rhode Island Hospital and Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America
| | - Celinda M. Kofron
- Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America
| | - Ulrike Mende
- Cardiovascular Research Center, Cardiovascular Institute, Rhode Island Hospital and Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America
| | - Kareen L. K. Coulombe
- Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America
| | - Bum-Rak Choi
- Cardiovascular Research Center, Cardiovascular Institute, Rhode Island Hospital and Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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9
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Heinson YW, Han JL, Entcheva E. Portable low-cost macroscopic mapping system for all-optical cardiac electrophysiology. JOURNAL OF BIOMEDICAL OPTICS 2023; 28:016001. [PMID: 36636698 PMCID: PMC9830584 DOI: 10.1117/1.jbo.28.1.016001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2022] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
SIGNIFICANCE All-optical cardiac electrophysiology enables the visualization and control of key parameters relevant to the detection of cardiac arrhythmias. Mapping such responses in human induced pluripotent stem-cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) is of great interest for cardiotoxicity and personalized medicine applications. AIM We introduce and validate a very low-cost compact mapping system for macroscopic all-optical electrophysiology in layers of hiPSC-CMs. APPROACH The system uses oblique transillumination, low-cost cameras, light-emitting diodes, and off-the-shelf components (total < $ 15 , 000 ) to capture voltage, calcium, and mechanical waves under electrical or optical stimulation. RESULTS Our results corroborate the equivalency of electrical and optogenetic stimulation of hiPSC-CMs, and V m - [ Ca 2 + ] i similarity in conduction under pacing. Green-excitable optical sensors are combinable with blue optogenetic actuators (chanelrhodopsin2) only under very low green light ( < 0.05 mW / mm 2 ). Measurements in warmer culture medium yield larger spread of action potential duration and higher conduction velocities compared to Tyrode's solution at room temperature. CONCLUSIONS As multiple optical sensors and actuators are combined, our results can help handle the "spectral congestion" and avoid parameter distortion. We illustrate the utility of the system for uncovering the action of cellular uncoupling agents and show extensibility to an epi-illumination mode for future imaging of thicker native or engineered tissues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuli W. Heinson
- George Washington University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington, DC, United States
| | - Julie L. Han
- George Washington University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington, DC, United States
| | - Emilia Entcheva
- George Washington University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington, DC, United States
- Address all correspondence to Emilia Entcheva,
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10
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Ripplinger CM, Glukhov AV, Kay MW, Boukens BJ, Chiamvimonvat N, Delisle BP, Fabritz L, Hund TJ, Knollmann BC, Li N, Murray KT, Poelzing S, Quinn TA, Remme CA, Rentschler SL, Rose RA, Posnack NG. Guidelines for assessment of cardiac electrophysiology and arrhythmias in small animals. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 2022; 323:H1137-H1166. [PMID: 36269644 PMCID: PMC9678409 DOI: 10.1152/ajpheart.00439.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Cardiac arrhythmias are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although recent advances in cell-based models, including human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CM), are contributing to our understanding of electrophysiology and arrhythmia mechanisms, preclinical animal studies of cardiovascular disease remain a mainstay. Over the past several decades, animal models of cardiovascular disease have advanced our understanding of pathological remodeling, arrhythmia mechanisms, and drug effects and have led to major improvements in pacing and defibrillation therapies. There exist a variety of methodological approaches for the assessment of cardiac electrophysiology and a plethora of parameters may be assessed with each approach. This guidelines article will provide an overview of the strengths and limitations of several common techniques used to assess electrophysiology and arrhythmia mechanisms at the whole animal, whole heart, and tissue level with a focus on small animal models. We also define key electrophysiological parameters that should be assessed, along with their physiological underpinnings, and the best methods with which to assess these parameters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Crystal M. Ripplinger
- 1Department of Pharmacology, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Davis, California
| | - Alexey V. Glukhov
- 2Department of Medicine, Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin
| | - Matthew W. Kay
- 3Department of Biomedical Engineering, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia
| | - Bastiaan J. Boukens
- 4Department Physiology, University Maastricht, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, The Netherlands,5Department of Medical Biology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Nipavan Chiamvimonvat
- 1Department of Pharmacology, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Davis, California,6Department of Internal Medicine, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Davis, California,7Veterans Affairs Northern California Healthcare System, Mather, California
| | - Brian P. Delisle
- 8Department of Physiology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky
| | - Larissa Fabritz
- 9University Center of Cardiovascular Science, University Heart and Vascular Center, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf with DZHK Hamburg/Kiel/Luebeck, Germany,10Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Thomas J. Hund
- 11Department of Internal Medicine, Dorothy M. Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio,12Department of Biomedical Engineering, Dorothy M. Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
| | - Bjorn C. Knollmann
- 13Vanderbilt Center for Arrhythmia Research and Therapeutics, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Na Li
- 14Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
| | - Katherine T. Murray
- 15Departments of Medicine and Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Steven Poelzing
- 16Virginia Tech Carilon School of Medicine, Center for Heart and Reparative Medicine Research, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech, Roanoke, Virginia,17Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia
| | - T. Alexander Quinn
- 18Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada,19School of Biomedical Engineering, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Carol Ann Remme
- 20Department of Experimental Cardiology, Heart Centre, Amsterdam Cardiovascular Sciences, Heart Failure and Arrhythmias Amsterdam UMC Location University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Stacey L. Rentschler
- 21Cardiovascular Division, Department of Medicine, Washington University in Saint Louis, School of Medicine, Saint Louis, Missouri
| | - Robert A. Rose
- 22Department of Cardiac Sciences, Libin Cardiovascular Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada,23Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Libin Cardiovascular Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Nikki G. Posnack
- 24Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation, Children’s National Hospital, Washington, District of Columbia,25Department of Pediatrics, George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, District of Columbia
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11
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Monasterio V, Pueyo E, Rodríguez-Matas JF, Carro J. Cardiac cells stimulated with an axial current-like waveform reproduce electrophysiological properties of tissue fibers. COMPUTER METHODS AND PROGRAMS IN BIOMEDICINE 2022; 226:107121. [PMID: 36156439 DOI: 10.1016/j.cmpb.2022.107121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Revised: 09/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE In silico electrophysiological models are generally validated by comparing simulated results with experimental data. When dealing with single-cell and tissue scales simultaneously, as occurs frequently during model development and calibration, the effects of inter-cellular coupling should be considered to ensure the trustworthiness of model predictions. The hypothesis of this paper is that the cell-tissue mismatch can be reduced by incorporating the effects of conduction into the single-cell stimulation current. METHODS Five different stimulation waveforms were applied to the human ventricular O'Hara-Rudy cell model. The waveforms included the commonly used monophasic and biphasic (symmetric and asymmetric) pulses, a triangular waveform and a newly proposed asymmetric waveform (stimulation A) that resembles the transmembrane current associated with AP conduction in tissue. A comparison between single-cell and fiber simulated results was established by computing the relative difference between the values of AP-derived properties at different scales, and by evaluating the differences in the contributions of ionic conductances to each evaluated property. As a proof of the benefit, we investigated multi-scale differences in the simulation of the effects induced by dofetilide, a selective IKr blocker with high torsadogenic risk, on ventricular repolarization at different pacing rates. RESULTS Out of the five tested stimulation waveforms, stimulation A produced the closest correspondence between cell and tissue simulations in terms of AP properties at steady-state and under dynamic pacing and of ionic contributors to those AP properties. Also, stimulation A reproduced the effects of dofetilide better than the other alternative waveforms, mirroring the 'beat-skipping' behavior observed at fast pacing rates in experiments with human tissue. CONCLUSIONS The proposed stimulation current waveform accounts for inter-cellular coupling effects by mimicking cell excitation during AP conduction. The proposed waveform improves the correspondence between simulation scales, which could improve the trustworthiness of single-cell simulations without adding computational cost.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Esther Pueyo
- Aragón Institute for Engineering Research, University of Zaragoza, IIS Aragón, Zaragoza, Spain; CIBER in Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), Spain
| | - José Félix Rodríguez-Matas
- LaBS, Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering "Giulio Natta", Politecnico di Milano, Italy
| | - Jesús Carro
- Universidad San Jorge, Villanueva de Gállego, Spain
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12
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Forouzandehmehr M, Paci M, Koivumäki JT, Hyttinen J. Altered contractility in mutation-specific hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: A mechano-energetic in silico study with pharmacological insights. Front Physiol 2022; 13:1010786. [PMID: 36388127 PMCID: PMC9659818 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2022.1010786] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 10/14/2022] [Indexed: 07/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction: Mavacamten (MAVA), Blebbistatin (BLEB), and Omecamtiv mecarbil (OM) are promising drugs directly targeting sarcomere dynamics, with demonstrated efficacy against hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) in (pre)clinical trials. However, the molecular mechanism affecting cardiac contractility regulation, and the diseased cell mechano-energetics are not fully understood yet. Methods: We present a new metabolite-sensitive computational model of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) electromechanics to investigate the pathology of R403Q HCM mutation and the effect of MAVA, BLEB, and OM on the cell mechano-energetics. Results: We offer a mechano-energetic HCM calibration of the model, capturing the prolonged contractile relaxation due to R403Q mutation (∼33%), without assuming any further modifications such as an additional Ca2+ flux to the thin filaments. The HCM model variant correctly predicts the negligible alteration in ATPase activity in R403Q HCM condition compared to normal hiPSC-CMs. The simulated inotropic effects of MAVA, OM, and BLEB, along with the ATPase activities in the control and HCM model variant agree with in vitro results from different labs. The proposed model recapitulates the tension-Ca2+ relationship and action potential duration change due to 1 µM OM and 5 µM BLEB, consistently with in vitro data. Finally, our model replicates the experimental dose-dependent effect of OM and BLEB on the normalized isometric tension. Conclusion: This work is a step toward deep-phenotyping the mutation-specific HCM pathophysiology, manifesting as altered interfilament kinetics. Accordingly, the modeling efforts lend original insights into the MAVA, BLEB, and OM contributions to a new interfilament balance resulting in a cardioprotective effect.
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13
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Trovato C, Mohr M, Schmidt F, Passini E, Rodriguez B. Cross clinical-experimental-computational qualification of in silico drug trials on human cardiac purkinje cells for proarrhythmia risk prediction. FRONTIERS IN TOXICOLOGY 2022; 4:992650. [PMID: 36278026 PMCID: PMC9581132 DOI: 10.3389/ftox.2022.992650] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The preclinical identification of drug-induced cardiotoxicity and its translation into human risk are still major challenges in pharmaceutical drug discovery. The ICH S7B Guideline and Q&A on Clinical and Nonclinical Evaluation of QT/QTc Interval Prolongation and Proarrhythmic Potential promotes human in silico drug trials as a novel tool for proarrhythmia risk assessment. To facilitate the use of in silico data in regulatory submissions, explanatory control compounds should be tested and documented to demonstrate consistency between predictions and the historic validation data. This study aims to quantify drug-induced electrophysiological effects on in silico cardiac human Purkinje cells, to compare them with existing in vitro rabbit data, and to assess their accuracy for clinical pro-arrhythmic risk predictions. The effects of 14 reference compounds were quantified in simulations with a population of in silico human cardiac Purkinje models. For each drug dose, five electrophysiological biomarkers were quantified at three pacing frequencies, and results compared with available in vitro experiments and clinical proarrhythmia reports. Three key results were obtained: 1) In silico, repolarization abnormalities in human Purkinje simulations predicted drug-induced arrhythmia for all risky compounds, showing higher predicted accuracy than rabbit experiments; 2) Drug-induced electrophysiological changes observed in human-based simulations showed a high degree of consistency with in vitro rabbit recordings at all pacing frequencies, and depolarization velocity and action potential duration were the most consistent biomarkers; 3) discrepancies observed for dofetilide, sotalol and terfenadine are mainly caused by species differences between humans and rabbit. Taken together, this study demonstrates higher accuracy of in silico methods compared to in vitro animal models for pro-arrhythmic risk prediction, as well as a high degree of consistency with in vitro experiments commonly used in safety pharmacology, supporting the potential for industrial and regulatory adoption of in silico trials for proarrhythmia prediction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristian Trovato
- Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Marcel Mohr
- Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH, R&D Preclinical Safety, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Friedemann Schmidt
- Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH, R&D Preclinical Safety, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Elisa Passini
- Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Blanca Rodriguez
- Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom,*Correspondence: Blanca Rodriguez,
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14
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Cumberland MJ, Riebel LL, Roy A, O’Shea C, Holmes AP, Denning C, Kirchhof P, Rodriguez B, Gehmlich K. Basic Research Approaches to Evaluate Cardiac Arrhythmia in Heart Failure and Beyond. Front Physiol 2022; 13:806366. [PMID: 35197863 PMCID: PMC8859441 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2022.806366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2021] [Accepted: 01/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Patients with heart failure often develop cardiac arrhythmias. The mechanisms and interrelations linking heart failure and arrhythmias are not fully understood. Historically, research into arrhythmias has been performed on affected individuals or in vivo (animal) models. The latter however is constrained by interspecies variation, demands to reduce animal experiments and cost. Recent developments in in vitro induced pluripotent stem cell technology and in silico modelling have expanded the number of models available for the evaluation of heart failure and arrhythmia. An agnostic approach, combining the modalities discussed here, has the potential to improve our understanding for appraising the pathology and interactions between heart failure and arrhythmia and can provide robust and validated outcomes in a variety of research settings. This review discusses the state of the art models, methodologies and techniques used in the evaluation of heart failure and arrhythmia and will highlight the benefits of using them in combination. Special consideration is paid to assessing the pivotal role calcium handling has in the development of heart failure and arrhythmia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Max J. Cumberland
- Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Leto L. Riebel
- Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Ashwin Roy
- Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Christopher O’Shea
- Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew P. Holmes
- Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
- Institute of Clinical Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Chris Denning
- Stem Cell Biology Unit, Biodiscovery Institute, British Heart Foundation Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Paulus Kirchhof
- Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
- University Heart and Vascular Center, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Blanca Rodriguez
- Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Katja Gehmlich
- Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
- Cardiovascular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford and British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
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15
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Gruber A, Edri O, Glatstein S, Goldfracht I, Huber I, Arbel G, Gepstein A, Chorna S, Gepstein L. Optogenetic Control of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiac Tissue Models. J Am Heart Assoc 2022; 11:e021615. [PMID: 35112880 PMCID: PMC9245811 DOI: 10.1161/jaha.121.021615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Background Optogenetics, using light‐sensitive proteins, emerged as a unique experimental paradigm to modulate cardiac excitability. We aimed to develop high‐resolution optogenetic approaches to modulate electrical activity in 2‐ and 3‐dimensional cardiac tissue models derived from human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)‐derived cardiomyocytes. Methods and Results To establish light‐controllable cardiac tissue models, opsin‐carrying HEK293 cells, expressing the light‐sensitive cationic‐channel CoChR, were mixed with hiPSC‐cardiomyocytes to generate 2‐dimensional hiPSC‐derived cardiac cell‐sheets or 3‐dimensional engineered heart tissues. Complex illumination patterns were designed with a high‐resolution digital micro‐mirror device. Optical mapping and force measurements were used to evaluate the tissues' electromechanical properties. The ability to optogenetically pace and shape the tissue's conduction properties was demonstrated by using single or multiple illumination stimulation sites, complex illumination patterns, or diffuse illumination. This allowed to establish in vitro models for optogenetic‐based cardiac resynchronization therapy, where the electrical activation could be synchronized (hiPSC‐derived cardiac cell‐sheets and engineered heart tissue models) and contractile properties improved (engineered heart tissues). Next, reentrant activity (rotors) was induced in the hiPSC‐derived cardiac cell‐sheets and engineered heart tissue models through optogenetics programmed‐ or cross‐field stimulations. Diffuse illumination protocols were then used to terminate arrhythmias, demonstrating the potential to study optogenetics cardioversion mechanisms and to identify optimal illumination parameters for arrhythmia termination. Conclusions By combining optogenetics and hiPSC technologies, light‐controllable human cardiac tissue models could be established, in which tissue excitability can be modulated in a functional, reversible, and localized manner. This approach may bring a unique value for physiological/pathophysiological studies, for disease modeling, and for developing optogenetic‐based cardiac pacing, resynchronization, and defibrillation approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amit Gruber
- Sohnis Research Laboratory for Cardiac Electrophysiology and Regenerative MedicineThe Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research InstituteTechnion‒Israel Institute of TechnologyHaifaIsrael
| | - Oded Edri
- Sohnis Research Laboratory for Cardiac Electrophysiology and Regenerative MedicineThe Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research InstituteTechnion‒Israel Institute of TechnologyHaifaIsrael
| | - Shany Glatstein
- Sohnis Research Laboratory for Cardiac Electrophysiology and Regenerative MedicineThe Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research InstituteTechnion‒Israel Institute of TechnologyHaifaIsrael
| | - Idit Goldfracht
- Sohnis Research Laboratory for Cardiac Electrophysiology and Regenerative MedicineThe Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research InstituteTechnion‒Israel Institute of TechnologyHaifaIsrael
| | - Irit Huber
- Sohnis Research Laboratory for Cardiac Electrophysiology and Regenerative MedicineThe Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research InstituteTechnion‒Israel Institute of TechnologyHaifaIsrael
| | - Gil Arbel
- Sohnis Research Laboratory for Cardiac Electrophysiology and Regenerative MedicineThe Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research InstituteTechnion‒Israel Institute of TechnologyHaifaIsrael
| | - Amira Gepstein
- Sohnis Research Laboratory for Cardiac Electrophysiology and Regenerative MedicineThe Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research InstituteTechnion‒Israel Institute of TechnologyHaifaIsrael
| | - Snizhanna Chorna
- Sohnis Research Laboratory for Cardiac Electrophysiology and Regenerative MedicineThe Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research InstituteTechnion‒Israel Institute of TechnologyHaifaIsrael
| | - Lior Gepstein
- Sohnis Research Laboratory for Cardiac Electrophysiology and Regenerative MedicineThe Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research InstituteTechnion‒Israel Institute of TechnologyHaifaIsrael
- Cardiology DepartmentRambam Health Care CampusHaifaIsrael
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16
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Human iPSC-Cardiomyocytes as an Experimental Model to Study Epigenetic Modifiers of Electrophysiology. Cells 2022; 11:cells11020200. [PMID: 35053315 PMCID: PMC8774228 DOI: 10.3390/cells11020200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2021] [Revised: 12/31/2021] [Accepted: 01/01/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The epigenetic landscape and the responses to pharmacological epigenetic regulators in each human are unique. Classes of epigenetic writers and erasers, such as histone acetyltransferases, HATs, and histone deacetylases, HDACs, control DNA acetylation/deacetylation and chromatin accessibility, thus exerting transcriptional control in a tissue- and person-specific manner. Rapid development of novel pharmacological agents in clinical testing—HDAC inhibitors (HDACi)—targets these master regulators as common means of therapeutic intervention in cancer and immune diseases. The action of these epigenetic modulators is much less explored for cardiac tissue, yet all new drugs need to be tested for cardiotoxicity. To advance our understanding of chromatin regulation in the heart, and specifically how modulation of DNA acetylation state may affect functional electrophysiological responses, human-induced pluripotent stem-cell-derived cardiomyocyte (hiPSC-CM) technology can be leveraged as a scalable, high-throughput platform with ability to provide patient-specific insights. This review covers relevant background on the known roles of HATs and HDACs in the heart, the current state of HDACi development, applications, and any adverse cardiac events; it also summarizes relevant differential gene expression data for the adult human heart vs. hiPSC-CMs along with initial transcriptional and functional results from using this new experimental platform to yield insights on epigenetic control of the heart. We focus on the multitude of methodologies and workflows needed to quantify responses to HDACis in hiPSC-CMs. This overview can help highlight the power and the limitations of hiPSC-CMs as a scalable experimental model in capturing epigenetic responses relevant to the human heart.
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17
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Forouzandehmehr M, Koivumäki JT, Hyttinen J, Paci M. A mathematical model of hiPSC cardiomyocytes electromechanics. Physiol Rep 2021; 9:e15124. [PMID: 34825519 PMCID: PMC8617339 DOI: 10.14814/phy2.15124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2021] [Revised: 10/18/2021] [Accepted: 11/02/2021] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) are becoming instrumental in cardiac research, human-based cell level cardiotoxicity tests, and developing patient-specific care. As one of the principal functional readouts is contractility, we propose a novel electromechanical hiPSC-CM computational model named the hiPSC-CM-CE. This model comprises a reparametrized version of contractile element (CE) by Rice et al., 2008, with a new passive force formulation, integrated into a hiPSC-CM electrophysiology formalism by Paci et al. in 2020. Our simulated results were validated against in vitro data reported for hiPSC-CMs at matching conditions from different labs. Specifically, key action potential (AP) and calcium transient (CaT) biomarkers simulated by the hiPSC-CM-CE model were within the experimental ranges. On the mechanical side, simulated cell shortening, contraction-relaxation kinetic indices (RT50 and RT25 ), and the amplitude of tension fell within the experimental intervals. Markedly, as an inter-scale analysis, correct classification of the inotropic effects due to non-cardiomyocytes in hiPSC-CM tissues was predicted on account of the passive force expression introduced to the CE. Finally, the physiological inotropic effects caused by Verapamil and Bay-K 8644 and the aftercontractions due to the early afterdepolarizations (EADs) were simulated and validated against experimental data. In the future, the presented model can be readily expanded to take in pharmacological trials and genetic mutations, such as those involved in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and study arrhythmia trigger mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jussi T. Koivumäki
- Faculty of Medicine and Health TechnologyTampere UniversityTampereFinland
| | - Jari Hyttinen
- Faculty of Medicine and Health TechnologyTampere UniversityTampereFinland
| | - Michelangelo Paci
- Faculty of Medicine and Health TechnologyTampere UniversityTampereFinland
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18
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Dasí A, Hernández-Romero I, Gomez JF, Climent AM, Ferrero JM, Trenor B. Analysis of the response of human iPSC-derived cardiomyocyte tissue to I CaL block. A combined in vitro and in silico approach. Comput Biol Med 2021; 137:104796. [PMID: 34461502 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2021.104796] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2021] [Revised: 08/02/2021] [Accepted: 08/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The high incidence of cardiac arrythmias underlines the need for the assessment of pharmacological therapies. In this field of drug efficacy, as in the field of drug safety highlighted by the Comprehensive in Vitro Proarrhythmia Assay initiative, new pillars for research have become crucial: firstly, the integration of in-silico experiments, and secondly the evaluation of fully integrated biological systems, such as human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs). In this study, we therefore aimed to combine in-vitro experiments and in-silico simulations to evaluate the antiarrhythmic effect of L-type calcium current (ICaL) block in hiPSC-CMs. For this, hiPSC-CM preparations were cultured and an equivalent virtual tissue was modeled. Re-entry patterns of electrical activation were induced and several biomarkers were obtained before and after ICaL block. The virtual hiPSC-CM simulations were also reproduced using a tissue composed of adult ventricular cardiomyocytes (hAdultV-CMs). The analysis of phases, currents and safety factor for propagation showed an increased size of the re-entry core when ICaL was blocked as a result of depressed cellular excitability. The bigger wavefront curvature yielded reductions of 12.2%, 6.9%, and 4.2% in the frequency of the re-entry for hiPSC-CM cultures, virtual hiPSC-CM, and hAdultV-CM tissues, respectively. Furthermore, ICaL block led to a 47.8% shortening of the vulnerable window for re-entry in the virtual hiPSC-CM tissue and to re-entry vanishment in hAdultV-CM tissue. The consistent behavior between in-vitro and in-silico hiPSC-CMs and between in-silico hiPSC-CMs and hAdultV-CMs evidences that virtual hiPSC-CM tissues are suitable for assessing cardiac efficacy, as done in the present study through the analysis of ICaL block.
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Affiliation(s)
- Albert Dasí
- Centro de Investigación e Innovación en Bioingeniería, Ci2B, Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, Spain
| | - Ismael Hernández-Romero
- Department of Signal Theory and Communications and Telematics Systems and Computing, Rey Juan Carlos University, Fuenlabrada, Spain
| | - Juan F Gomez
- Centro de Investigación e Innovación en Bioingeniería, Ci2B, Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, Spain; Valencian International University, Valencia, Spain
| | - Andreu M Climent
- Instituto ITACA, Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, Spain
| | - Jose M Ferrero
- Centro de Investigación e Innovación en Bioingeniería, Ci2B, Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, Spain
| | - Beatriz Trenor
- Centro de Investigación e Innovación en Bioingeniería, Ci2B, Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, Spain.
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19
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Psaras Y, Margara F, Cicconet M, Sparrow AJ, Repetti GG, Schmid M, Steeples V, Wilcox JA, Bueno-Orovio A, Redwood CS, Watkins HC, Robinson P, Rodriguez B, Seidman JG, Seidman CE, Toepfer CN. CalTrack: High-Throughput Automated Calcium Transient Analysis in Cardiomyocytes. Circ Res 2021; 129:326-341. [PMID: 34018815 PMCID: PMC8260473 DOI: 10.1161/circresaha.121.318868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2021] [Revised: 05/06/2021] [Accepted: 05/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
[Figure: see text].
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiangos Psaras
- Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine (Y.P., F.M., A.J.S., M.S., V.S., C.S.R., H.C.W., P.R., C.N.T.), University of Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Francesca Margara
- Computer Science (F.M., A.B.-O., B.R.), University of Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Marcelo Cicconet
- Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine (Y.P., F.M., A.J.S., M.S., V.S., C.S.R., H.C.W., P.R., C.N.T.), University of Oxford, United Kingdom
- Computer Science (F.M., A.B.-O., B.R.), University of Oxford, United Kingdom
- Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics (H.C.W., C.N.T.), University of Oxford, United Kingdom
- Image and Data Analysis Core (M.C.), Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Genetics (G.G.R., J.A.L.W., J.G.S., C.E.S., C.N.T.), Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Cardiovascular Division, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA (C.E.S.)
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD (C.E.S.)
| | - Alexander J. Sparrow
- Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine (Y.P., F.M., A.J.S., M.S., V.S., C.S.R., H.C.W., P.R., C.N.T.), University of Oxford, United Kingdom
- Computer Science (F.M., A.B.-O., B.R.), University of Oxford, United Kingdom
- Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics (H.C.W., C.N.T.), University of Oxford, United Kingdom
- Image and Data Analysis Core (M.C.), Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Genetics (G.G.R., J.A.L.W., J.G.S., C.E.S., C.N.T.), Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Cardiovascular Division, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA (C.E.S.)
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD (C.E.S.)
| | - Giuliana G. Repetti
- Genetics (G.G.R., J.A.L.W., J.G.S., C.E.S., C.N.T.), Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - Manuel Schmid
- Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine (Y.P., F.M., A.J.S., M.S., V.S., C.S.R., H.C.W., P.R., C.N.T.), University of Oxford, United Kingdom
- Computer Science (F.M., A.B.-O., B.R.), University of Oxford, United Kingdom
- Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics (H.C.W., C.N.T.), University of Oxford, United Kingdom
- Image and Data Analysis Core (M.C.), Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Genetics (G.G.R., J.A.L.W., J.G.S., C.E.S., C.N.T.), Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Cardiovascular Division, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA (C.E.S.)
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD (C.E.S.)
| | - Violetta Steeples
- Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine (Y.P., F.M., A.J.S., M.S., V.S., C.S.R., H.C.W., P.R., C.N.T.), University of Oxford, United Kingdom
- Computer Science (F.M., A.B.-O., B.R.), University of Oxford, United Kingdom
- Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics (H.C.W., C.N.T.), University of Oxford, United Kingdom
- Image and Data Analysis Core (M.C.), Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Genetics (G.G.R., J.A.L.W., J.G.S., C.E.S., C.N.T.), Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Cardiovascular Division, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA (C.E.S.)
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD (C.E.S.)
| | - Jonathan A.L. Wilcox
- Genetics (G.G.R., J.A.L.W., J.G.S., C.E.S., C.N.T.), Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | | | - Charles S. Redwood
- Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine (Y.P., F.M., A.J.S., M.S., V.S., C.S.R., H.C.W., P.R., C.N.T.), University of Oxford, United Kingdom
- Computer Science (F.M., A.B.-O., B.R.), University of Oxford, United Kingdom
- Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics (H.C.W., C.N.T.), University of Oxford, United Kingdom
- Image and Data Analysis Core (M.C.), Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Genetics (G.G.R., J.A.L.W., J.G.S., C.E.S., C.N.T.), Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Cardiovascular Division, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA (C.E.S.)
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD (C.E.S.)
| | - Hugh C. Watkins
- Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics (H.C.W., C.N.T.), University of Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Paul Robinson
- Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine (Y.P., F.M., A.J.S., M.S., V.S., C.S.R., H.C.W., P.R., C.N.T.), University of Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Blanca Rodriguez
- Computer Science (F.M., A.B.-O., B.R.), University of Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan G. Seidman
- Genetics (G.G.R., J.A.L.W., J.G.S., C.E.S., C.N.T.), Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - Christine E. Seidman
- Genetics (G.G.R., J.A.L.W., J.G.S., C.E.S., C.N.T.), Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Cardiovascular Division, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA (C.E.S.)
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD (C.E.S.)
| | - Christopher N. Toepfer
- Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine (Y.P., F.M., A.J.S., M.S., V.S., C.S.R., H.C.W., P.R., C.N.T.), University of Oxford, United Kingdom
- Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics (H.C.W., C.N.T.), University of Oxford, United Kingdom
- Genetics (G.G.R., J.A.L.W., J.G.S., C.E.S., C.N.T.), Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
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20
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Akwaboah AD, Tsevi B, Yamlome P, Treat JA, Brucal-Hallare M, Cordeiro JM, Deo M. An in silico hiPSC-Derived Cardiomyocyte Model Built With Genetic Algorithm. Front Physiol 2021; 12:675867. [PMID: 34220540 PMCID: PMC8242263 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2021.675867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2021] [Accepted: 05/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The formulation of in silico biophysical models generally requires optimization strategies for reproducing experimentally observed phenomena. In electrophysiological modeling, robust nonlinear regressive methods are often crucial for guaranteeing high fidelity models. Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs), though nascent, have proven to be useful in cardiac safety pharmacology, regenerative medicine, and in the implementation of patient-specific test benches for investigating inherited cardiac disorders. This study demonstrates the potency of heuristic techniques at formulating biophysical models, with emphasis on a hiPSC-CM model using a novel genetic algorithm (GA) recipe we proposed. The proposed GA protocol was used to develop a hiPSC-CM biophysical computer model by fitting mathematical formulations to experimental data for five ionic currents recorded in hiPSC-CMs. The maximum conductances of the remaining ionic channels were scaled based on recommendations from literature to accurately reproduce the experimentally observed hiPSC-CM action potential (AP) metrics. Near-optimal parameter fitting was achieved for the GA-fitted ionic currents. The resulting model recapitulated experimental AP parameters such as AP durations (APD50, APD75, and APD90), maximum diastolic potential, and frequency of automaticity. The outcome of this work has implications for validating the biophysics of hiPSC-CMs in their use as viable substitutes for human cardiomyocytes, particularly in cardiac safety pharmacology and in the study of inherited cardiac disorders. This study presents a novel GA protocol useful for formulating robust numerical biophysical models. The proposed protocol is used to develop a hiPSC-CM model with implications for cardiac safety pharmacology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akwasi D Akwaboah
- Department of Engineering, Norfolk State University, Norfolk, VA, United States
| | - Bright Tsevi
- Department of Engineering, Norfolk State University, Norfolk, VA, United States
| | - Pascal Yamlome
- Department of Engineering, Norfolk State University, Norfolk, VA, United States
| | | | | | | | - Makarand Deo
- Department of Engineering, Norfolk State University, Norfolk, VA, United States
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21
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Gnecchi M, Sala L, Schwartz PJ. Precision Medicine and cardiac channelopathies: when dreams meet reality. Eur Heart J 2021; 42:1661-1675. [PMID: 33686390 PMCID: PMC8088342 DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehab007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2020] [Revised: 12/10/2020] [Accepted: 01/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Precision Medicine (PM) is an innovative approach that, by relying on large populations’ datasets, patients’ genetics and characteristics, and advanced technologies, aims at improving risk stratification and at identifying patient-specific management through targeted diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. Cardiac channelopathies are being progressively involved in the evolution brought by PM and some of them are benefiting from these novel approaches, especially the long QT syndrome. Here, we have explored the main layers that should be considered when developing a PM approach for cardiac channelopathies, with a focus on modern in vitro strategies based on patient-specific human-induced pluripotent stem cells and on in silico models. PM is where scientists and clinicians must meet and integrate their expertise to improve medical care in an innovative way but without losing common sense. We have indeed tried to provide the cardiologist’s point of view by comparing state-of-the-art techniques and approaches, including revolutionary discoveries, to current practice. This point matters because the new approaches may, or may not, exceed the efficacy and safety of established therapies. Thus, our own eagerness to implement the most recent translational strategies for cardiac channelopathies must be tempered by an objective assessment to verify whether the PM approaches are indeed making a difference for the patients. We believe that PM may shape the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac channelopathies for years to come. Nonetheless, its potential superiority over standard therapies should be constantly monitored and assessed before translating intellectually rewarding new discoveries into clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Massimiliano Gnecchi
- Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Sciences-Coronary Care Unit and Laboratory of Clinical and Experimental Cardiology, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Viale Golgi 19, 27100 Pavia, Italy.,Department of Molecular Medicine, Unit of Cardiology, University of Pavia, Viale Golgi 19, 27100 Pavia, Italy.,Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, J-Floor, Old Main Building, Groote Schuur Hospital, Observatory, 7925 Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Luca Sala
- Istituto Auxologico Italiano IRCCS, Center for Cardiac Arrhythmias of Genetic Origin and Laboratory of Cardiovascular Genetics, Via Pier Lombardo 22 - 20135 Milan, Italy
| | - Peter J Schwartz
- Istituto Auxologico Italiano IRCCS, Center for Cardiac Arrhythmias of Genetic Origin and Laboratory of Cardiovascular Genetics, Via Pier Lombardo 22 - 20135 Milan, Italy
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22
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Paci M, Koivumäki JT, Lu HR, Gallacher DJ, Passini E, Rodriguez B. Comparison of the Simulated Response of Three in Silico Human Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes Models and in Vitro Data Under 15 Drug Actions. Front Pharmacol 2021; 12:604713. [PMID: 33841140 PMCID: PMC8033762 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2021.604713] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2020] [Accepted: 01/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Objectives: Improvements in human stem cell-derived cardiomyocyte (hSC-CM) technology have promoted their use for drug testing and disease investigations. Several in silico hSC-CM models have been proposed to augment interpretation of experimental findings through simulations. This work aims to assess the response of three hSC-CM in silico models (Koivumäki2018, Kernik2019, and Paci2020) to simulated drug action, and compare simulation results against in vitro data for 15 drugs. Methods: First, simulations were conducted considering 15 drugs, using a simple pore-block model and experimental data for seven ion channels. Similarities and differences were analyzed in the in silico responses of the three models to drugs, in terms of Ca2+ transient duration (CTD90) and occurrence of arrhythmic events. Then, the sensitivity of each model to different degrees of blockage of Na+ (INa), L-type Ca2+ (ICaL), and rapid delayed rectifying K+ (IKr) currents was quantified. Finally, we compared the drug-induced effects on CTD90 against the corresponding in vitro experiments. Results: The observed CTD90 changes were overall consistent among the in silico models, all three showing changes of smaller magnitudes compared to the ones measured in vitro. For example, sparfloxacin 10 µM induced +42% CTD90 prolongation in vitro, and +17% (Koivumäki2018), +6% (Kernik2019), and +9% (Paci2020) in silico. Different arrhythmic events were observed following drug application, mainly for drugs affecting IKr. Paci2020 and Kernik2019 showed only repolarization failure, while Koivumäki2018 also displayed early and delayed afterdepolarizations. The spontaneous activity was suppressed by Na+ blockers and by drugs with similar effects on ICaL and IKr in Koivumäki2018 and Paci2020, while only by strong ICaL blockers, e.g. nisoldipine, in Kernik2019. These results were confirmed by the sensitivity analysis. Conclusion: To conclude, The CTD90 changes observed in silico are qualitatively consistent with our in vitro data, although our simulations show differences in drug responses across the hSC-CM models, which could stem from variability in the experimental data used in their construction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelangelo Paci
- BioMediTech, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Jussi T Koivumäki
- BioMediTech, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Hua Rong Lu
- Global Safety Pharmacology, Discovery Sciences, Janssen Research and Development, Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, Beerse, Belgium
| | - David J Gallacher
- Global Safety Pharmacology, Discovery Sciences, Janssen Research and Development, Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, Beerse, Belgium
| | - Elisa Passini
- Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Blanca Rodriguez
- Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
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23
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Dariolli R, Campana C, Gutierrez A, Sobie EA. In vitro and In silico Models to Study SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Integrating Experimental and Computational Tools to Mimic "COVID-19 Cardiomyocyte". Front Physiol 2021; 12:624185. [PMID: 33679437 PMCID: PMC7925402 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2021.624185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2020] [Accepted: 01/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The rapid dissemination of SARS-CoV-2 has made COVID-19 a tremendous social, economic, and health burden. Despite the efforts to understand the virus and treat the disease, many questions remain unanswered about COVID-19 mechanisms of infection and progression. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) infection can affect several organs in the body including the heart, which can result in thromboembolism, myocardial injury, acute coronary syndromes, and arrhythmias. Numerous cardiac adverse events, from cardiomyocyte death to secondary effects caused by exaggerated immunological response against the virus, have been clinically reported. In addition to the disease itself, repurposing of treatments by using "off label" drugs can also contribute to cardiotoxicity. Over the past several decades, animal models and more recently, stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes have been proposed for studying diseases and testing treatments in vitro. In addition, mechanistic in silico models have been widely used for disease and drug studies. In these models, several characteristics such as gender, electrolyte imbalance, and comorbidities can be implemented to study pathophysiology of cardiac diseases and to predict cardiotoxicity of drug treatments. In this Mini Review, we (1) present the state of the art of in vitro and in silico cardiomyocyte modeling currently in use to study COVID-19, (2) review in vitro and in silico models that can be adopted to mimic the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on cardiac function, and (3) provide a perspective on how to combine some of these models to mimic "COVID-19 cardiomyocytes environment.".
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafael Dariolli
- Department of Pharmacological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States
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24
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Abstract
The electromechanical function of the heart involves complex, coordinated activity over time and space. Life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias arise from asynchrony in these space-time events; therefore, therapies for prevention and treatment require fundamental understanding and the ability to visualize, perturb and control cardiac activity. Optogenetics combines optical and molecular biology (genetic) approaches for light-enabled sensing and actuation of electrical activity with unprecedented spatiotemporal resolution and parallelism. The year 2020 marks a decade of developments in cardiac optogenetics since this technology was adopted from neuroscience and applied to the heart. In this Review, we appraise a decade of advances that define near-term (immediate) translation based on all-optical electrophysiology, including high-throughput screening, cardiotoxicity testing and personalized medicine assays, and long-term (aspirational) prospects for clinical translation of cardiac optogenetics, including new optical therapies for rhythm control. The main translational opportunities and challenges for optogenetics to be fully embraced in cardiology are also discussed.
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25
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Li W, Han JL, Entcheva E. Syncytium cell growth increases Kir2.1 contribution in human iPSC-cardiomyocytes. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 2020; 319:H1112-H1122. [PMID: 32986966 PMCID: PMC7789971 DOI: 10.1152/ajpheart.00148.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) enable cardiotoxicity testing and personalized medicine. However, their maturity is of concern, including relatively depolarized resting membrane potential and more spontaneous activity compared with adult cardiomyocytes, implicating low or lacking inward rectifier potassium current (Ik1). Here, protein quantification confirms Kir2.1 expression in hiPSC-CM syncytia, albeit several times lower than in adult heart tissue. We find that hiPSC-CM culture density influences Kir2.1 expression at the mRNA level (potassium inwardly rectifying channel subfamily J member 2) and at the protein level and its associated electrophysiology phenotype. Namely, all-optical cardiac electrophysiology and pharmacological treatments reveal reduction of spontaneous and irregular activity and increase in action potential upstroke in denser cultures. Blocking Ik1-like currents with BaCl2 increased spontaneous frequency and blunted action potential upstrokes during pacing in a dose-dependent manner only in the highest-density cultures, in line with Ik1’s role in regulating the resting membrane potential. Our results emphasize the importance of syncytial growth of hiPSC-CMs for more physiologically relevant phenotype and the power of all-optical electrophysiology to study cardiomyocytes in their multicellular setting. NEW & NOTEWORTHY We identify cell culture density and cell-cell contact as an important factor in determining the expression of a key ion channel at the transcriptional and the protein levels, KCNJ2/Kir2.1, and its contribution to the electrophysiology of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes. Our results indicate that studies on isolated cells, out of tissue context, may underestimate the cellular ion channel properties being characterized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weizhen Li
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia
| | - Julie L Han
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia
| | - Emilia Entcheva
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia
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